West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Nuclear News

February 2017

The nuclear industry is bidding behind closed doors to relax safety standards by doubling the number of cracks allowed in the radioactive cores of Scotland’s ageing reactors.

In its second consultation for the EDF’s planned Sizewell C nuclear power station there’s a strange omission, writes Peter Lux: that the plant would use 1,600 m3 of mains water a day, adding to stresses on important local wetlands like RSPB’s Minsmere reserve. The omission is not just strange – it’s also illegal and could make the entire exercise invalid.

Jeremy Corbyn used his quiet visit to the Copeland by-election to tell Labour members he would give his backing for plans to develop nuclear energy plants. The party leader made the day trip to the constituency – which includes the Sellafield plant – to explain his support for new nuclear power as part of Britain’s “energy mix”. The dash to West Cumbria came after the Tories printed thousands of leaflets in which they highlighted Corbyn’s previous statements critical of nuclear power. Corbyn has indicated he is open to new nuclear power stations but stopped short of backing proposals for a new plant at Moorside, near Sellafield, which could create 21,000 jobs.

Plans for a £2.8bn cable tunnel under Morecambe Bay are nearly ready to go to the Planning Inspectorate following completion of public consultation. National Grid is planning a 22km-long, five-metre diameter tunnel to link the proposed Moorside nuclear power station to the National Grid network